METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MARKING ANIMALS

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for marking animals during the treatment of same, characterised by the steps of: a) ensuring apparatus (1) capable of retaining a marking substance is attached to a treatment device (5), for use in treating the animals, and b) treating the animals with the treatment device (5) so that during the treatment process some of the marking substance is transferred from the apparatus (1) to the animals.

Description: FOR THE PURPOSES OF INFORMATION ONLY Codes used to identify States party to the PCT on the front pages of pamphlets publishing international applications under the PCT. AT Austria GB United Kingdom MR Mauritania AU Australia GE Georgia MW Malawi BB Barbados GN Guinea NE Niger BE Belgium GR Greece NL Netherlands BF Burkina Faso HU Hungary NO Norway BG Bulgaria IE Ireland NZ New Zealand BJ Benin IT Italy PL Poland BR Brazil JP Japan PT Portugal BY Belarus KE Kenya RO Romania CA Canada KG Kyrgystan RU Russian Federation CF Central African Republic KP Democratic People's Republic SD Sudan CG Congo of Korea SE Sweden CH Switzerland KR Republic of Korea SI Slovenia α Cote d'lvoiie Z Kazakhstan SK Slovakia CM Cameroon LI Liechtenstein SN Senegal CN China LK Sri Lanka TD Chad CS Czechoslovakia LU Luxembourg TG Togo CZ Czech Republic LV Latvia TJ Tajikistan DE Germany MC Monaco TT Trinidad and Tobago DK Denmark MD Republic of Moldova UA Ukraine ES Spain MG Madagascar US United States of America FI Finland ML Mali UZ Uzbekistan FR France MN Mongolia VN Viet Nam GA Gabon METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MARKING ANIMALS TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a method and apparatus for marking animals. BACKGROUND ART Frequently it is desirable for animal owners such as farmers to be able to determine which of their animals have been treated in a particular manner. One such situation occurs during drenching. Not marking the animals during this treatment process leads to a common problem in that certain animals can be mistakenly drenched more than once, or possibly not at all, and time and money can be wasted while ascertaining which individuals have or have not been drenched. However existing means of marking animals during drenching are not satisfactory either. One common method of indicating that an animal has been drenched is by marking the animal with a chalk mark placed on the animal's back. The above method, however, is not satisfactory. To mark with chalk on the animal's back requires a movement separate to the normal drenching movements, consumes further time and slows down the entire drenching process. In flocks/herds consisting of hundreds of such animals, this can increase considerably the time needed to drench an entire flock/herd. A similar problem arises with other processes, such as vaccination of animals, including sheep, cattle and so forth. A method or apparatus by which application of any form of treatment to group animals, including a 1 SUBSTITUTE SHEET means of marking such animals, but without adding to the time of the treatment process, would be a significant advantage over the present methods. In this specification the term treatment may refer to any process that results in the modification of an animal's state, and may include cosmetic, medical or other treatments. In this specification the word animal refers to any living organism, but will usually be taken to refer to domesticated or farm animals, especially sheep, cattle or deer. It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice. Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for marking animals during the treatment of same, characterised by the steps of: (a) ensuring apparatus capable of retaining a marking substance is attached to a treatment device, for use in treating the animals, and (b) treating the animals with the treatment device so that during the treatment process some of the marking substance is transferred from the apparatus to the animals. The treatment device may be any device suitable for treating animals for example a drench gun, vaccinator and so forth. For ease of reference 2 SUBSTITUTE SHEET throughout the specification the treatment device shall now be referred to as a drench gun, however it should be appreciated that the invention can be applied to other treatment devices. The apparatus capable of retaining the marking substance can come in a variety of forms. For example, the apparatus may be a spray gun, ink pad, chalk, marker pen and the like. However, in preferred embodiments the apparatus is in the form of a pad and this shall be referred to as such throughout the specification. It should be appreciated however that this term should be seen in no way as limiting. The pad may be attached to the drench gun by a variety of means, for example it may be strapped on, glued on or fitted into a bracket. In preferred embodiments, the pad has an aperture through it which enables the pad to be placed onto a suitable part of the drench gun. In preferred embodiments the pad is placed over the nozzle of the drench gun. The pad may incorporate an absorbent material. The absorbent material may be any type of material, so long as it is capable of retaining the marking substance as well as transferring it when required to the animals. For example, the absorbent material may be latex foam, carpet, cotton wool or rubber. In preferred embodiments however, the absorbent material is high density rubber. The applicant has found that if the marking substances are liquid, the high density rubber holds the liquid better and longer than low density rubber and the other materials previously mentioned. Preferably the rubber is biodegradable and will break down after a few months in the sunlight. SUBSTITUTE SHEET The marking substance may be any one of suitable marking substances, dependent of course on the nature of the apparatus used. For example, if the apparatus is a spray gun, then the marking substance may be a spray paint. Alternatively, the marking substance may be made of a solid material such as chalk or crayon. In preferred embodiments, the marking substance is an ink. One ink which has been found to be particularly useful by the applicants is sold under the name of Neptune Wool Marking Ink. This is a non-toxic, non-flammable water scourable ink and has been approved by the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to be used on Wool. Their reference number for this is Lab No: 93 1253. One advantage of this ink is that after storage, it will reactivate with water. For ease of reference throughout the specification the marking substance shall now be referred to as ink, although again it should be appreciated that this term should not be seen as being limiting. The ink may be transferred to the animals by a variety of means. For example, there may be a valve capable of releasing the ink which is operable in conjunction with the treatment device. For example, pulling the trigger on a drench gun may cause the ink to be sprayed on to the animal. In preferred embodiments where the apparatus is in the form of a pad having absorbent material, the ink is transferred to the animal as a consequence of the pad being depressed against the animal. This can easily occur if the pad is close to the nozzle of the drench gun so that as the nozzle is pressed into the animals mouth or other body part to administer SUBSTITUTE SHEET the treatment, the pad is depressed at the same time thus marking the animal. In some embodiments of the present invention the pad may be capable of being re-inked. For example, there may be provided a reservoir of ink which is accessible to the pad. This may be present on the drench gun, or alternatively there may be a quite separate reservoir. For example, the farmer operating the drench gun may have a container of ink near his/her drenching station and can dip the nozzle of the drench gun (and hence the absorbent pad) into the ink as required. In preferred embodiments however, the nature of the pad is such that only a small portion of the total amount of ink retained by the pad is released during each individual treatment. Thus the pad may be used many times without further addition of ink. In this way, few additional actions are required in the process of drenching and the step of marking the animals takes little time. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the pad may be attached to part of the person treating the animals, for example to the arm or hand. This is preferably done in such a way that in the usual process of treatment, the person comes close enough to the animal for the pad to contact the animal to release the marking substance. In preferred embodiments of the present invention the pad includes a barrier which prevents movement of the ink in one or more directions so as to reduce the chances of the operator of the drench gun and the drench gun itself from being covered with ink from the pad. In preferred embodiments, there is a flat layer of material on the back of the pad which 5 SUBSTITUTE SHEET prevents the transfer of ink. A preferred material for this is closed cell foam chemically cross linked as supplied by New Zealand Foam Latex Limited under the reference number PE 45 LD66 Double Black. A suitable adhesive for joining the barrier to the rubber is a foam latex adhesive. The present invention may be used for more than just identifying which animals have been treated. In some embodiments, there may be provided a different coloured dye or a differently shaped pad so that the animals can receive distinctive markings according to the type of treatment or other factors (such as the date being treated). For example whereas in preferred embodiments the pad is circular in cross-section, it may be star-shaped, square-shaped, triangular-shaped and so forth. Many different types of manufacturing methods may be employed with respect to the pad. In one embodiment, the rubber may come in sheet form and have the backing adhered to the back of the sheet. These rubber sheets can be punched through at say ten at a time with a cutting dye to a predetermined size. A typical thickness of the pad may be in the order of 2.5 centimetres and the diameter of the pad may be in the order of 6 centimetres. The diameter of the aperture which is also punched through the pad, may be complementary to the diameter of most drench gun nozzles or barrels. The applicant has found a high density rubber pad having the above dimensions is capable of being pre-inked with a measured amount of 2.5 mis of ink. Trials by the applicant have found that this amount of ink enables between 150 and 200 animals to be marked with a single pad. 6 SUBSTITUTE SHEET BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1: is a side view of a device capable of retaining a marking substance in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 2: is a side view of a drench gun and device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 3: is a side view of a device in accordance with a further preferred embodiment of the present invention. BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION With respect to Figure 1, there is illustrated an apparatus capable of retaining the marking substance in the form of a pad generally indicated by arrow 1. The pad 1 is substantially circular in cross-section and has an aperture 2 along its central axis. The pad 1 is comprised of two layers, an absorbent layer 3 and a non-absorbent backing 4. The absorbent layer 3 is made from high density rubber and has been pre-inked. Deformation of the layer 3 causes the ink held by the rubber 3 to exude. Therefore, pushing the pad 1 against a surface causes that surface to be marked by the ink within the absorbent layer 3. 7 SUBSTITUTE SHEET The non-absorbent backing 4 has been attached to the absorbent layer 3 by a suitable adhesive. The backing 4 prevents ink from travelling from the back of the pad 1. Thus, when the pad 1 is placed on nozzle 6 of a drench gun 5 as illustrated in Figure 2, ink is prevented from transferring to the operator of the gun 5 or to the gun 5 itself. It can be seen from Figure 2 that if the nozzle 6 of the gun 5 is placed into the mouth of the animal, this will cause deformation of the absorbent layer 3, thus transferring the ink to the animal. Figure 3 illustrates an alternative device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention generally indicated by arrow 9. The device 9 is comprised of a pad 13 of a similar construction to that described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The pad 13 is attached to a bracket 12 which in turn is connected to an armband 10. The armband 10 fits over the wrist of the person who is administering treatment to the animal. The configuration of the bracket 12 is such that the pad 13 will press against the animal during treatment of same. Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the claims thereof. 8 SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A method for marking animals during the treatment of same, characterised by the steps of: a) ensuring apparatus capable of retaining a marking substance is attached to a treatment device, for use in treating the animals, and b) treating the animals with the treatment device so that during the treatment process some of the marking substance is transferred from the apparatus to the animals. 2. Apparatus suitable for carrying out the method as claimed in claim 1. 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 which includes an absorbent material capable of absorbing a marking substance and transferring same. 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 when the absorbent material transfers the marking substance when deformed. 5. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the absorbent material is high density rubber. 6. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein the absorbent material is biodegradable. 7. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6 which includes material capable of restricting the transfer of the marking substance. 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the material capable of restricting the transfer of the marking substance is attached to the absorbent layer in the form of a backing. 9 SUBSTITUTE SHEET 9. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 8 which includes attachment means enabling the apparatus to be attached to a treatment device. 10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 when the attachment means is in the form of an aperture. 11. A method substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. 12. Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. 13. A method of manufacture substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. 10 SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Inventors: STOCKDILL NEIL, STOCKDILL, NEIL
Applicants: STOCKDILL NEIL, STOCKDILL, NEIL
Application year: 1994
Main classification: A01K11
IPC codes: A01K11, A01K13